Patient's question:
My partner smokes and drinks beer, but he drinks beer instead. He drinks one or two bottles of beer with each meal and smokes a few cigarettes a day. We didn't plan to get pregnant, but we ended up having a baby. I'm worried that the child's physical and intellectual development might be affected. I told him we could do the Down syndrome test, but last night he said the child's intelligence can't be tested and suggested I have an abortion. Now that the child is two months old, I don't want to abort and I feel like crying all the time. He's threatening to end the marriage. Is it true that a thorough check-up is only needed for a small part of the Down syndrome test? If the test comes back negative, will there be no problem with the child's intelligence? Could you please give me some advice?Doctor's answer:
According to your information, smoking and drinking beer are high-risk factors for preconception. This is a matter of probability, not that there is definitely a problem. It is recommended that you have regular prenatal check-ups. The normal result of the Down syndrome screening only proves that the probability of having a 21-trisomy is low. Later, you can have a 4D ultrasound. You should not give up on having a child just because of this risk. Have a good discussion with your husband, or take him to the prenatal center for consultation, and let the doctor explain it to him.